Electricity

Incorporating energy efficiency measures can reduce the amount of storage needed to power the nation’s buildings entirely with renewable energy, according to analysis conducted by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). As more communities plan to eventually rely on 100% renewable energy, the researchers offer a strategy that

[Editor’s note: It is good to remember that because many places, such as many parts of India, are behind in development, they are able to develop green infrastructure at a point before more damage is done. This is the one blessing of underdeveloped countries. As they play catchup in development, they can start more originally

Wind turbine blades might look elegant, even ballet-like, as they glide through the air. But, much like ballet, achieving that simple grace requires complex, advanced engineering. NREL researchers build a 13-m thermoplastic blade at NREL’s CoMET facility. Photo from the National Wind Technology Center at the NREL Flatirons Campus. (Photo by Ryan Beach / NREL)

Every time I write about solar vehicles, I get the same thing from people in the comments and on social media, like: “That’s a stupid gimmick that’ll add like a mile a day.” “What a joke. That can’t even run the air conditioning.” While these statements have been true for decades, solar technology and EV

A few weeks ago, right-wing media site NewsMax ran a piece centered around an out-of-context Elon Musk quote. “If we shift all transport to electric than electricity demand approximately doubles … this is going to create a lot of challenges with the grid,” NewsMax quoted Musk as saying, before going on to scare readers about

A recent check of the live feed from the NEM showed Australian wind generations’ small but increasing contribution to the grid. One discovery I made was that there did appear to be a time when the wind didn’t blow. Angus and Barnaby would be glad about that. The largest states by population (and energy use)

Some days, the effort to go from burning mostly fossil fuels to using renewable energy can really seem like a slog. Things are improving, but all too often, it looks like a glacial pace (back before glaciers were melting faster, of course). Snails would get bored and fall asleep watching it. It’s just that bad.

The ocean was calm when the Peregrine Falcon ship left the harbor in Homer, Alaska, last month with three moorings resting on its deck, all loaded with scientific instruments. Eighteen hours later, these moorings were lowered into the silty waves where they collected data for two months. Two of the moorings were 12-foot submarine-shaped buoys

Not long ago, 100% renewable energy was a distinction reserved for remote communities avoiding costly energy imports. But now, some U.S. states are reaching very high levels of renewable energy, and the largest urban areas on the planet are targeting 100% renewable operations, basing their futures around variable power from wind and solar tied to energy storage.

Hydropower projects around the globe can now apply for financing to support the cost of assessment for certification against the newly launched Hydropower Sustainability Standard. A fund of up to US$1 million provided by the Swiss government and managed by the International Hydropower Association’s non-profit sustainability division is available to around 40 hydropower projects over

Courtesy of RMI.By Heather House & Shelby Kuenzli On October 13, 2021, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed into law the first major piece of climate legislation in the Tar Heel state in recent years. North Carolina House Bill 951 — Energy Solutions for North Carolina — was passed by both chambers of the North Carolina state legislature

Guest blog by Nitish Arora and Jessica Korsh India needs to exponentially increase the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to power the potential 102 million EVs on the road in 2030. Reaching this target is essential to prevent a climate catastrophe and improve the unhealthy air quality for millions of Indians. A robust public charging network is essential for

Originally published by Union of Concerned Scientists, The Equation.By Rachel Cleetus  In the last week, Senator Manchin (D-WV) has become increasingly public with his opposition to the Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), a policy designed to drive down power sector carbon emissions which is part of the reconciliation bill under consideration in Congress. With the vote margins so slim in Congress,

As I sit at my desk in front of my computer, the sun is shining and my pool looks very inviting outside my office window, but I am driven to write. Australia gets a lot of bad press internationally about our love for fossil fuels and how we are dragging our feet on climate change

The last 3 months have demonstrated a surge in solar installations in India. If this rate continues, coal-fired power could peak in 2024 and this increased solar generation could satisfy India’s increasing thirst for energy. After a dip in 2020 due to COVID, solar installations have quadrupled in the last three months — from a

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today awarded nearly $40 million to 40 projects that are advancing the next generation of solar, storage, and industrial technologies necessary for achieving the Biden–Harris administration’s climate goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035. Specifically, the projects will reduce the cost of solar technologies by increasing

Andrew Forrest, Mukesh Ambani, and Larry Fink walk into a bar — “looks like it’s coke zero all round,” says the bartender. The richest man in India (Ambani) has set a goal of net-zero emissions by 2035 for his company. Australia’s Andrew Forrest has pledged net-zero emissions in phases, mostly by 2030 (scope 1 &

Here’s the thing about renewables like wind and solar that many people don’t get. The “fuel” that makes them work is free. That is not to say the devices we construct to harvest energy from wind and solar don’t cost anything and don’t contribute some greenhouse gas emissions. But let’s not pretend that somehow all

Courtesy of RMI.By Ryan Shea & Russell Mendell Through the Justice40 Initiative, President Biden has made clear that bringing clean energy benefits to marginalized and low-income communities is a priority. Right now, low-income households experience up to three times higher energy burden (the percent of household income spent on energy costs) than high-income households. Rooftop solar is one of

Amanda Kolker. Photo by Amy Griffin, NREL From Iceland to Alaska to France, NREL geoscientist Amanda Kolker has studied geothermal energy all around the world. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in geology, Kolker went to study volcano and glacier interactions in Iceland but was quickly distracted by Iceland’s vast geothermal energy systems. As an earth scientist,